this is, quite possibly, the most satisfying, quickest, easiest project i’ve ever sewn. in about 30 minutes, i went from an ironing board cover that looked like this:
to THIS:
yay!
i used the general idea of this tutorial, which i found via grosgrain. turned my board upside down onto a 2 yard cut of denyse schmidt for joann fabric, marked about 3″ around the long sides (i’d recommend giving yourself a little more room, though, maybe 3.5″), gradually increasing to about 5″ beyond the narrow end and 4″ beyond the other end. i serged the raw edge, then ironed down and sewed a 1/2″ casing around the outside. i inserted 1/4″ elastic, tried it on the board to make sure enough elastic was in there to allow for it to stretch, stitched the ends of the elastic, and it was done! that’s right, i didn’t even sew the gap closed. i’m such a rebel.
the old cover was so thin and worn i burned myself all the time as the metal grid underneath heated up (see how overdue this project was?), so i added a layer of padding using scraps of batting sandwiched underneath the old cover. i put the new cover on top the old one.
i’m very happy.
i love seeing other people’s creative spaces, so here’s a bit more of a peek at mine. it’s in the basement of our 1920’s house, which we finished in anticipation of O’s arrival last winter. my husband’s requirement was a space to watch movies; my requirement was a space to sew. so let me first start with my old dungeon sewing area. it was dim and cold, with a cement floor and no heat. it looked like this:
my new sewing area is physically in the same corner of the basement and is still pretty small, but is now much brighter and warmer (due to the addition of recessed lighting and heat vents!):
my mom built a wonderful sewing table for me out of an ikea butcher block countertop, so my sewing machine and serger could sit side by side. i hadn’t set up my serger until then because i didn’t have the desk space, so thanks again, mom! my cutting table is behind me as i sit at my machines. i had to drop a leaf while i was still pregnant, otherwise my big belly wouldn’t fit through that gap! hehe.
various sewing books and notions reside on ikea shelves mounted to the right of the sewing space.
i painted a chalkboard cloud right onto the wall, which is normally filled with my sewing agenda because i’m a listmaker, but i’m laser focused on my next project so it doesn’t need to be written down. 😉
outdated college text books are used as a speaker stand (i think it’s funny to have the most left brained school subjects propping up the tunes in my creative space).
and a mini rainbow of thread.
you don’t get to see my fabric stash because i didn’t bother to clean it up (insert evil laugh here)! otherwise, this is about as clean as my space gets. once when i was deep in a project, my sister likened the state of the room to a “mad scientist’s lab.” fabric piled everywhere, patterns spread out, thread all over the floor…so you shouldn’t think this is a normal state of affairs, but i do like to keep things organized enough for me to know where my supplies are and have space to work.
i would encourage anyone that has an ugly old ironing board cover to take a little time away from “normal sewing” and whip yourself up a new one to spruce up your sewing space. just do it! trust me, you’ll be so glad you did.
skirt as top 
LOVELY! I’m in the process of a sewing room re-vamp and wow yours looks so fresh and full of possibility. Bet it clears your head ready for the next project.
i really need to tackle this project, too. it’s been on my list forever.
and also, i love the idea of your sewing space looking like a mad scientist’s lab. that’s how mine looks most of the time, too.
I really like your pale blue walls with splashes of bright colors. Such as your new bright red ironing board. The butcher block table is such a great idea!
my sewing space is a huge mess right now, but we are moving b in s’s room next week so i will get my very own room soon, yay!
wow, how lovely! thanks for sharing–I love these peeks at sewing spaces, too.
oooo, i love a sewing room tour! and the new ironing board cover really brings it all together – nice work! 🙂
Okay, I need to know…is your sewing space always that clean??? It’s so cute! Love the new ironing board cover! I need to do get to that one day…
I’m so glad you posted pictures! I’ve been meaning to replace my ironing board cover for forever!
what a great idea! mine is gross as well.
um, I’M so jealous of YOUR super-organized sewing space 🙂
Mine looks like that mad scientist thing all the time.
I have been meaning to do this forever. I love your sewing space! Its such a testament to the fact that you don’t have to have a huge fancy space to have something that looks beautiful and is functional…just a good eye for design. You certainly do!
Cute sewing area! I love seeing what other people’s spaces look like.
Lovely! And you used DS. I have this too and it sure looks nice on your ironing board. Thank so much.
I can’t believe how easy that was! I bought a pattern and a kit to make a great iron board cover- well it is pretty and nice colors etc but too short and narrow!!! So I will go back to the drawing board and try yours!!! Thanks- and I love what you did with your space!
What kind of fabric did you use for the ironing board cover? Doesn’t it need to be fairly sturdy? Slick? Not slick?
It’s just quilting cotton, Denyse Schmidt for Joann Fabrics. I posted this 8 months ago and it’s still going strong! I put my new cover right over the old one, so that might help with the sturdiness issue.